


Ribbons

by Book_Mage



Series: Puella Magi Marinette Magica [1]
Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, PMMM AU, and i was listening to pmmm osts and got nostalgic, i had no idea what to title this, i wrote this cause i was bored, this'll probably make more sense if you have background knowledge of pmmm:rebellion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_Mage/pseuds/Book_Mage
Summary: He tore the goddess from the heavens, and returned her to the place where she rightfully belongs.Only, she doesn't belong there. Not anymore.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Puella Magi Marinette Magica [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862098
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Ribbons

Marinette was nervous.

She fiddled with the straps of her leather bag, as she stood outside the classroom, glancing nervously at the door. She hadn't seen any of her classmates in a year, much less spoken to half of them.

In an attempt to get her nervousness to wear off, Marinette tugged on the itchy plaid skirt the school forced her to wear. If it was one thing she didn't miss from France, it was the awful uniforms they made them wear.

The door creaked open, revealing the tired, familiar face of Mme. Bustier. Smiling at her, Mme. Bustier guided her into the classroom, where she stood in front of the class. Marinette scanned the class, recalling many of her classmates, as well a couple new ones. Nino waved at her from his seat, and Marinette noted that he had a bracelet looped around his wrist that she had never seen before.

"I'm sure many of you remember Marinette!" Mme. Bustier said happily. "She's lived in Italy for the last year or so, so please be kind to her as she transitions back to life in Paris. Would you like to re-introduce yourself, Marinette?"

"Of course!" Marinette said. "My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng! I like fashion design, baking pastries with my parents, and art! I hope we can all be friends!"

The class clapped politely, and Marinette bowed. She shuffled to an empty seat, which was beside Nino, and in front of a girl she had never seen before. The girl smiled kindly at her, and Marinette’s gaze dragged to the silver necklace around her neck. The charm on it was identical to Nino's. Maybe they were dating or something? Wouldn't he have told her about that over one of their many calls? Marinette frowned.

Regardless, she didn't have time to focus on that. She could talk to Nino at lunch, and get filled in on what exactly had gone down in Paris since she was gone.

Marinette failed to notice a pair of green eyes staring at her from the back of the classroom.

* * *

It turned out, Marinette didn't have time to get filled on what happened while she was gone during lunch. Students crowded around her, both people her age and underclassmen clamoring for information on what it was like in Italy.

"I heard that in Italy, the food there is really good!" one of the girls said. "Your parents are bakers, right?"

"Well yes, they are but-" Marinette started.

"There's another Italian student who moved here a couple months ago!" another person said. "Do you know her? Her name was Lila Rossi?"

"I was only there for a year-"

"Your hair is so shiny," someone cooed. "What shampoo do you use?"

People were leaning in, and Marinette was beginning to feel extremely claustrophobic. Anxiety crept up on her, and Marinette had the sudden desire to leave. It was far too packed, everyone was speaking over each other at once, and she was feeling hot in her long sleeved uniform top-

"Everyone, you're smothering her. I'm sure Marinette will be happy to answer your questions at another time."

Like the red sea, the wave of students parted to reveal a boy. He had golden blond hair, loosely tied back in a short ponytail with two red ribbons, similar to the grey ones Marinette had in her hair at the moment. Marinette had a striking feeling that she had met him somewhere before, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The crowd of students dissipated, murmuring to each other as they left.

The blond boy smiled kindly at her. "My name is Adrien Agreste. I'm here to take you on a tour around the school. You haven't been here in awhile, have you?"

"No, I guess not," Marinette said, packing her uneaten lunch back into her bag. "It's good to meet you, Adrien."

Adrien began to lead her through the halls, and Marinette felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her as she walked along the familiar floors of Dupont. Everything was just as she remembered, from the grey tiled floors to the glass bridge that connected the two school buildings. 

Looking out the window, Marinette could see people eating lunches and playing kickball in the courtyards. Her heart ached for some reason, as she saw Nino sitting with the new girl, as well another blonde girl with a large pin on her head. It nearly blinded Marinette thanks to sunlight reflecting off it. Marinettte suddenly felt very lonely, standing above them, watching from below.

"Are you happy to be back?" Adrien asked, his eyes on her.

"Yeah, I am," Marinette said softly. "Something just feels different."

"It has been a year," Adrien gently said. "Things have changed around here since then."

Still, a nagging feeling followed Marinette as she walked through the halls, not listening to anything in particular. Adrien had given up on explaining altogether, and they walked in silence. Marinette took special care in looking at everything, finding it exactly the same as it was before. From the windows to the doors to the bulletin boards, everything was the same.

Stepping onto the glass walkway, everything suddenly clicked into place for Marinette.

"No, nothing has changed at all," Marinette agreed, turning to look through the window. "If anything, the one who's changed around here is me."

Adrien turned around, a shocked look on his face. His green eyes expressed nothing but pure horror. Marinette's body grew light as she stared up into the sky, the surroundings around her bleeding into shades of red and pink.

"It _is_ me," Marinette decided. "I don't belong here. Not anymore."

Marinette felt herself lift off her feet, a burst of joy exploding in her as she realized that she was floating, ascending back towards the heavens, where everything felt warm, soft, _right_ . Yes, that was where she belonged. A question rose within her.

"If I don't belong here, then how did I end up here in the first place?" she said. "Why?" 

The answer eluded her. It was just out of her grasp, and Marinette felt herself reaching out, towards the light towards the answer, and was going to reach it- 

Two firm arms looped around her waist, grounding Marinette into reality. The lightness in her body left, leaving a leaden weight behind. Marinette tried to reach again, but she was anchored back to reality. 

Marinette looked down sourly at what was weighing her down. Her eyes widened as she saw Adrien holding her closely to him, face buried into her shoulder. 

"Hey!" Marinette said. "What're you doing?!" 

"You're here," Adrien said wetly, his arms still wrapped firmly around her waist. "You're here, exactly where you belong." 

Marinette blinked, and the cacophony of red and pink surrounded them faded, leaving them back in the glass walkway. Marinette's hair tumbled loosely around her shoulders, and she realized that the ribbons must've fallen out of her hair. The air grew thick. Adrien placed both his hands on her shoulders, his gaze fixated on the ground. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, do you cherish the world you live in?" Adrien asked. "Or would you go against the laws to transcend, and follow your heart?" 

Marinette blinked. She hadn't pegged Adrien as one for odd questions. She looked down at the floor. "I... I do cherish this world! But... But... I don't think it's a good idea to break the laws set in place. They exist for a reason, don't they? 

Adrien went still. He stared at the ground for a long time. A drop of sweat rolled down Marinette's face. Finally, Adrien let go of her shoulders, letting out a sigh. 

"I see then," he said, reaching up for his head. He pulled both of the red ribbons out of his hair, walking up to Marinette. "One day, we won't be on the same side anymore. I don't care. 

He lightly grabbed Marinette's hair, re-tying two bunches into her usual pigtails. "No matter what, I'll keep wishing for a world where you can be happy." 

Marinette had no idea how to answer that. Truthfully, she was beginning to feel a bit freaked out. As Adrien stepped back, Marinette caught a glint of bright green, flashing from the silver ring situated on his finger. Adrien pressed his lips together, and Marinette could see tears welling up in his eyes. 

"I knew it," he finally said, giving her a teary smile. "The ribbons always did look better on you." 

Marinette could only stare blankly at him. Something tugged at her chest again, the same strum of sadness. Marinette had a feeling that the ribbons she know wore represented something important to Adrien, but Marinette couldn't know for sure. 

After all, they were strangers. 

**Author's Note:**

> Useful footnotes:
> 
> [1] In the original movie, Madoka stated that she lived with her family in the United States for a year due to her mother's job, before moving back to Mitakihara Town. I changed this to Marinette leaving for Italy for a year, as I'd imagine that they traveled there to help Gina with something. Plus it let me toss in a Lila reference.
> 
> [2] Most obvious, Marinette had taken Madoka's role in the series, while Adrien has taken Homura's. Interestingly, Marinette and Homura actually share the same English VA. I considered making Adrien Madoka, as honestly, either of them could fit either role in the duo. However, I ended up choosing Marinette for Madoka's role, because creation powers, y'now?
> 
> [3] With Madoka-Marinette and Homura-Adrien happening, Chloé, Nino, and Alya fill the remaining three roles, it being Nino-Sayaka (childhood friends), Alya-Kyoko (illusion powers) and Chloé-Mami (don't ask). No idea who would play Nagisa's role (likely either Sabrina or Manon I suppose).
> 
> [4] Soul Gems function slightly differently in this AU. Within the original series, they would take the form of rings within the unactivated form, or egg-shaped jewels. While they can still take the jewel shape here, their unactivated form would appear similar to to unactivated Miraculous within ML. Most of the time, they would appear as dull silver jewelry, but due to Adrien essentially ripping away Marinette's powers and storing them within his ring, it appears as a silver ring with a green jewel in the center.
> 
> [5] Kwamis are the Incubators.
> 
> I wrote this entirely in one sitting, so there's likely a couple errors here and there. Feel free to inform me of any. I may write more of this AU, just because it is pretty fun. It'll likely appear only in snippets however, because I really don't have the energy for another WIP.


End file.
